MISHAWAKA – The age-old rivalry between Grace and Bethel wrote another memorable chapter on Wednesday.
The No. 1 Lancers erased a 17-point deficit, charging ahead after halftime to beat No. 23 Bethel 81-74. The win extended Grace’s program-recorded 19-game winning streak as the Lancers remained perfect on the year (19-0, 9-0 Crossroads League).
Grace held the high-scoring Pilots (15-4, 6-3 CL) to their lowest scoring output of the season, outscoring Bethel by 17 in the second half. Bethel was held to just 25 points after halftime.
Jakob Gibbs poured in 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, all while playing lockdown perimeter defense. Elijah Malone had a double-double, and Cade Gibbs scored 14 points.
Grace picked up early momentum on Wednesday night thanks to a steal and dunk from Jakob Gibbs. But Grace struggled mightily to find its shooting touch in the early going.
The Lancers missed a handful of close-range shots and trailed 12-4.
After a timeout by Grace, Malone immediately converted an and-1. But the Lancers were still unable to get on track offensively and found themselves behind by 14.
Bethel shot a blistering 73 percent from the floor in the first 10 minutes; Grace struggled to shoot 35 percent by comparison.
Jake Wadding tried to right the ship with two straight 3-pointers. But the Pilots hit five of their first 10 triples, sparking the home team in timely moments.
With five minutes left in the half, Grace trailed by 17. But the Lancers began to show signs of life to end the half.
Grace got back to the basics, scoring in transition and dominating the paint. They went on a furious 15-3 run to slash Bethel’s margin.
Bethel recovered, hitting five free throws over the final 12 seconds to seize a 49-39 lead at halftime.
The Pilots shot 59 percent from the floor in the half and outrebounded Grace by four. They also had a massive advantage at the foul line, shooting 18 free throws compared to four for Grace.
Grace recovered to shoot 47 percent for the half but committed seven turnovers.
Bethel scored six points in the first two minutes to continue its torrid offensive pace. With 16:56 to play, Bethel had pushed its lead back up to 16.
The Lancers began to score the ball more effectively, however. Jakob Gibbs in particular was a force, attacking the rim relentlessly and finishing a pair of and-1s on two consecutive plays.
Cade Gibbs hit a triple with 10:29 remaining, trimming the Pilots’ lead to three. He canned another 3-pointer on the next possession to even the score at 61s.
Carter Stoltzfus gave Grace a two-point lead with a driving layup, marking Grace’s first lead since the score was 4-2. Brett Sickafoose followed that up with a deep triple.
Bethel was stunned and had to call timeout, suddenly trailing 68-63.
Bethel scored four quick points, but the Gibbs’s brothers combined for six points in the next minute to reestablish Grace’s cushion.
A layup from Ian Scott pushed Grace in front 76-72 with two minutes to play. Grace’s defense took care of the rest. Bethel missed its final six field goals of regulation to go along with two turnovers, and the Lancers iced the win at the free throw line.
Bethel shot 31 percent as a team in the second half while Grace made 48 percent of its attempts.
Stoltzfus produced 13 points with a trio of 3-pointers, adding three boards and two assists. Cade Gibbs had 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal.
Malone had 11 points, 14 boards, 4 blocks and 2 assists, and Wadding notched 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
Sickafoose scored seven points with three assists, and Scott had 4 points, 5 boards and 3 assists.
The Lancers return home on Saturday for a doubleheader clash with Marian. The women’s game will tip off at 1 p.m. with the men to follow at 3 p.m.

Win Streak Reaches Six As Lady Lancers Blow By Bethel
WINONA LAKE - Grace College’s women’s basketball dominated wire-to-wire in a 80-56 victory over Bethel on Wednesday night.
The Lancers (11-8, 6-3 Crossroads League) pushed their win streak to six games and now sit alone in fourth place in the conference with a two-game advantage over fifth place Huntington.
The first points of the Wednesday night battle came courtesy of Bethel (5-14, 0-9 CL) who held an early 4-2 lead before the Lancers exploded on 19-0 run to quickly take full control of the contest.
The scoreless run, which lasted over eight minutes, saw the Pilots go 0-9 From the field. Meanwhile the Lancers had six different players score as they raced ahead 21-4.
The Pilots finally ended the lengthy drought with a pair of buckets, but the Lancers answered each score with one of their own as they carried a 23-8 lead into the quarter break.
Kate Rulli started the scoring in the second quarter, but a trifecta from Bethel helped the Pilots answer back with a quick 5-0 spurt.
Bethel matched their scoring from the first quarter just four minutes into the second, but Grace maintained the advantage with an efficient showing from its offense.
At the midpoint of the quarter Grace held a 32-17 advantage but the Lancers offense was soon to come alive again.
Maddie Ryman hit a pair of shots from the charity stripe that sent Grace off on a 10-0 burst to extend the advantage.
The Pilots ended the Lancers’ run with a shot from beyond the arc, but Bekah Marshall and Morganne Houk each found their touch from range on consecutive possessions as Grace’s lead reached 29 points.
A pair of Pilots free throws sent the game to the intermission with Grace ahead 49-22. The Lancers shot an impressive 61 percent while holding the Pilots to a meager 26 percent.
Peyton Murphy had the Lancers’ first six points in the third quarter as Grace and Bethel traded scores to start the second half.
A driving layup from Molly Long saw Grace’s advantage grow to 30 points. Bethel had no answer for Grace’s offense which was in the midst of scoring at least 23 points for the third consecutive quarter.
The Lancers final score of the quarter came from Marshal, who hit a fade away jumper at the buzzer to give Grace a 73-40 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The lead grew to 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Lancers emptied its bench. All 11 players saw action for Grace and Lily Moore got on the board with a late free throw to finish off the 80-56 victory for Grace.
Ryman led Grace with 17 points on an efficient 7-10 from the field. Murphy had a balanced line of 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Grace finished the game with an impressive 57 shooting percentage while holding Bethel to 32 percent. The Lancers held a 35-27 advantage on the boards and a 34-18 advantage on points in the paint.
The Lancers’ next contest is on Saturday against No. 5 Marian.